"Does the Queen Mother and the Wise King have other suitable locations? You can tell me and discuss it together. It is not impossible to discuss it."

Zhao Rong glanced at the uncle and sister-in-law, and they both looked slightly surprised. He thought about it and said something polite.

"I will listen to Mr. Zhao."

"This king has no objection either."

Zhao Rong nodded gently, "Then it's settled."

Li Mingyi pondered and said, "To be honest with you, Mr. Zhao, I and my sister-in-law have already found several suitable locations for the Fengshan ceremony, and Jiyue Mountain is one of them. This mountain is our sacred mountain in Lidi, and it has a special status in the hearts of the people of Dali. It is great to hold the Fengshan ceremony here."

Dugu nodded, "That's right. Mr. Zhao has a keen eye for talent. With Mr. Zhao presiding over the Fengshan ceremony, I feel more at ease."

Oh, you mean you were not confident in me before? You are too narrow-minded... Zhao Rong smiled in his heart.

Several people complimented him again.

Dugu and Li Mingyi discussed the official positions to be given to Zhao Rong, Gu Yiwu and his party.

The current identities of these Confucian scholars are more like the immortal messengers sent down by the immortals on the mountain - even the Linlu Academy, which is famous in the mountains and hills of the whole continent, has the nature of an immortal on the mountain.

Zhao Rong, Gu Yiwu and others will then mobilize all the officials in Liting and all the forces and resources in Dali to organize the Fengshan ceremony, so they need a nominal official position.

Dugu thought for a while and said in a gentle voice: "Mr. Zhao and Mr. Gu will be assigned to the six ministries of the court. Their official positions must not be low. Otherwise, how about you two take up official positions in the Privy Council or the Secretariat?"

Zhao Rong narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Privy Council and the Secretariat of the Dali court were the highest institutions in charge of the civil and military powers of Dali, also known as the East and West Ministries.

Those who hold office there are already equivalent to the prime ministers of Dali, and they all stand at the top of power in Dali.

If Zhao Rong and others accepted it, it would be glorious, but if they finished their work and wanted to return to the academy, the Dali court would still give them the official positions and refuse to accept their resignation.

Then aren't Zhao Rong, Gu Yiwu and other Confucian scholars studying in the academy bound to Dali in some sense?

It would be fine if he had served as a minor official in Dali, but for such a high position, even if he resigned in the end, at least this experience would definitely be recorded on his resume, after all, it would leave a trace of his family ties.

Zhao Rong couldn't help but glance at the purple bead curtain above him.

It's hard not to wonder if she did it on purpose.

Gu Yiwu didn't think that far, or maybe he had never thought about coming down the mountain and going to other secular dynasties to help the country, so it didn't matter.

"Thank you, Your Majesty..." He was about to nod in agreement but was interrupted by his friend's cough.

The burly scholar glanced at Zhao Rong and immediately shut up.

The latter put down his hand that was covering his mouth and coughing, and shook his head calmly, "Thank you for your kindness, Queen Mother. Brother Yiwu and I are not very talented and knowledgeable, so how dare we be on the same level as the officials in the court? Your Majesty and the wise king should give us a smaller official position below the Minister of Rites. To command the six ministries of the court, the silver medal from your Majesty is enough for me."

Dugu still did not give up and persuaded:

"Mr. Zhao, what are you talking about? The two poems you wrote casually in Xingzi Town have already become popular in Hanjing and well-known in the literary world of Dali. If this is considered as lack of talent and learning, then I really can't find anyone with deep talent and learning."

She paused, "How about this? I saw today that Your Majesty admires Mr. Zhao very much, and he also admires Confucianism... Why don't you take on the position of Taifu and guide Your Majesty in his studies in his spare time during the Fengshan ceremony?"

The woman in white behind the pearl curtain spoke with eager anticipation.

Coupled with her beautiful voice and her noble status as the empress dowager, it is almost impossible for a man to resist the desire for this beauty.

However, the young scholar bowed and shook his head.

My goodness, isn't the Grand Tutor the Imperial Master? They are completely tied together.

Zhao Rong was speechless. Although this little emperor looked cute and interesting, that was no reason for you to set a trap for me.

Later, seeing that Zhao Rong still refused politely, Dugu had to give up.

After some discussion, Zhao Rong and Gu Yiwu were finally given a small official position as Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites, one of the four departments under the Ministry of Rites. This position was also in charge of sacrificial rituals, which was in line with the Fengshan ceremony.

Doctor Zhao? It's easy to think of him as a quack medicine seller... Zhao Rong laughed and muttered to himself, "Well, they're all the same. Just fool them as much as you can and that's it."

Soon, this first meeting ended, and Zhao Rong and Gu Yiwu said goodbye and left.

In the empty and bright hall, only Dugu and Li Mingyi were left.

This uncle and sister-in-law hold the highest power in Dali.

A person sat high on a stage, his face hidden by a purple pearl curtain, so his face could not be seen clearly.

A man stood quietly at the bottom of the stairs, his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

The air was quiet for a while.

Dugu said softly, "Uncle, please go and see Mr. Zhao and Mr. Gu off on my behalf."

Li Mingyi nodded, turned and left.

After there was no one left in the audience, the woman in white behind the pearl curtain on the stage seemed to tilt her body slightly, her arm resting on the bright yellow pillow beside her, and she seemed to be staring ahead, and was quiet for a moment.

"...Heh, we can't let outsiders bully us...but we can let you, the Li family, bully us. Is that right or wrong..."

The woman chuckled.

Her nominal brother-in-law had never given her any inappropriate look, nor had he ever done anything inappropriate in front of her.

However, the woman in white became increasingly wary of him.

After a moment.

Her eyes moved as she stared at the dark blue sky outside the palace gate, which was locked behind layers of palace walls. She murmured, "Jiyue Mountain... I haven't been back for a long time."

It was unknown how long the hall was silent.

Behind the purple pearl curtain, a woman in white clothes and covered with white gauze stood up. She had a slender figure, especially her thin waist, the curve it outlined was very amazing.

The woman turned around, raised her hand to take off the white veil on her dress, and threw it on the ground behind her.

She left after saying a few words.

"Sweep it clean."

Not long after the figure of the woman in white disappeared, a quiet and graceful girl in palace dress walked into the hall with a group of palace maids.

They are very nimble and deft.

She tore down the purple bead curtain that had previously blocked the view of Zhao Rong and other men, and also threw away the white veil that had also been seen by those men.

Replace the silk fabrics such as the chair pillows that the Empress had only sat on once.

The places where Zhao Rong, Gu Yiwu and Li Mingyi had just sat and stood were cleaned dozens of times with a wet mop.

By the way, the tea cups they used to drink from should also be thrown away.

A quiet and graceful girl in palace dress, with tasseled hair, a red flower-pink on her forehead, and a tight palace dress that is as white as snow.

She stood in the center of the hall with a calm expression, supervising the cleaning work of the palace maids.

The latter were also quiet and skilled in their movements.

There was no fuss, as if he was already familiar with and used to it.

Inside the hall, this scene took place silently.

At a certain moment, the quiet and graceful girl in palace dress tilted her head slightly, glanced at the place where Zhao Rong had been sitting, and whispered to herself:

"The moth is covered with golden threads of snow willow... the smile is overflowing... the fragrance is gone... I have searched for him among the crowd for a thousand times... is that what you wrote..."

Not long after, a quiet and bookish girl in palace dress left with the palace maids with light steps.

Her name is Cardamom.

The Fengyi Palace Director of the Music Bureau, together with the Master of Rites and Music Xuechan and the rarely seen Caiyi Nvshi, were all in charge of serving the Empress Dowager personally.

…

On a corridor leading to the front hall of the Weiyang Palace.

Zhao Rong walked quietly for a while, and at one point he suddenly said, "Something is wrong."

"What's wrong?"

Gu Yiwu next to him turned his head curiously.

Zhao Rong frowned slightly, "Just now I directly announced the decision to hold the Fengshan ceremony at Jiyue Mountain, and the reactions of Empress Dowager Dugu and that King Li Xian were not right."

He sounded somewhat certain.

Gu Yiwu thought for a moment, "Aren't they also quite surprised? They probably didn't expect it either."

Zhao Rong shook his head: "No, the cultivation skills of these two people should not show surprise at that time. It is because of their surprise that I feel something is wrong."

Gu Yiwu: “…”

The burly scholar was confused and couldn't help but look at his friend a few more times. What the hell is this reverse brain circuit? Is there something wrong with me or you?

Just when Gu Yiwu couldn't help but fall into self-doubt, Zhao Rong said thoughtfully: "So...these two people had been thinking about this before, and they all hoped to be enthroned in Jiyue Mountain? Interesting."

Gu Yiwu heard this and said in a serious tone: "How about we change places?"

Zhao Rong didn't reply for a moment.

Gu Yiwu suddenly spoke, as if he remembered something, "By the way, Ziyu, do you still remember what I told you before, the origin of this Dugu family?"

Zhao Rong looked at him and nodded.

Gu Yiwu pondered and said, "It is said that Empress Dowager Dugu was born into a commoner family, so she has no help from her mother's family in the court... And it is said that the reason why the former emperor of Dali was able to find the Dugu family was because the ancestors of Dali had told him to meet them on a mountain in his dream."

Zhao Rong continued, "You mean, this mountain is the Moon Festival Mountain?"

Gu Yiwu nodded slightly.

Zhao Rong was silent for a moment.

He chuckled and shook his head: "No need to change, this is it."

Gu Yiwu nodded tacitly, and Zhao Rong did not explain.

The two walked quietly for a while.

The young scholar suddenly laughed, "Oh, you guys are thinking the same thing, interesting."

The burly scholar also laughed.

At this moment, in the front hall of the Weiyang Palace, it seemed that the banquet had ended and the guests left in an orderly manner. However, the little emperor did not go through the main door where the ministers left, but came to the back hall, surrounded by a group of palace maids.

However, although the young emperor and his entourage were coming towards Zhao Rong and Gu Yiwu, they were quite far away, and the former did not see Zhao Rong and Gu Yiwu.

As he passed by, Zhao Rong saw that the little emperor seemed to have drunk a lot of wine.

His handsome face was flushed, and he was drunkenly holding the soft hand of the beauty who had just sat with him.

However, at this moment, the two crescent moon maidens beside the little emperor signaled to the other palace maids with their eyes, as if they were preparing to take the little emperor back to the bedroom to rest and separate from the beautiful woman who was serving wine.

Zhao Rong took a look.

The little emperor didn't seem to have any objection to this, and he obeyed the Crescent Moon sisters sent by his mother to take care of him. So the little emperor looked down at the pair of beautiful hands and reluctantly let go.

"You go back and have some rest too. I'll come and play with you tomorrow." The little emperor waved drunkenly and then they parted.

On the corridor not far away, Zhao Rong and Gu Yiwu saw this scene and smiled at each other.

Gu Yiwu sighed, "Oh, it's great to be young."

"Oh, Brother Yiwu, this has a story."

Zhao Rong joked.

Gu Yiwu cursed and laughed, waving his hands, "It's just a bullshit story, it's just a bunch of nonsense that happened when I was a kid and didn't know anything."

Zhao Rong said "Oh" out of curiosity just right.

Sure enough, the burly scholar touched his chin with green stubble and couldn't help but confide:

"When I was a kid, there was a big sister in the family next door who I played with very well. After school, she liked to climb over the wall and take us to play house. We were innocent and innocent. That day was also the first time I noticed her hands, her arms, her breasts... ahem, her face... It turned out to be so beautiful."

Zhao Rong suppressed his laughter and asked seriously, "And then you rubbed it?"

“…”

The word "蹭" is used very skillfully.

Gu Yiwu snorted and said proudly, "It was Sister Guo who rubbed against me and took the initiative to hold my hand."

"Eh, really?"

But before Zhao Rong could ask curiously, Gu Yiwu stamped his feet angrily and said:

"That day, we were playing house. I finally got to play the groom and Sister Guo played the bride. We had just put on the wreaths and hadn't even had our wedding night when my mother came over and beat me up. Hey, don't you think this ruined my business?"

"Haha...cough cough, that's right." Zhao Rong laughed and covered his mouth to cough. He asked curiously, "Then what happened next?"

"What else can we do? I've sued our respective parents. Our two families have been enemies for a long time, and we rarely have the chance to play together. Do you think it was necessary to build such a high wall? Not even birds can fly over it..."

While Gu Yiwu was cursing, Zhao Rong smiled and said a few words to comfort him.

This childhood ignorance about matters between men and women, and the quiet first blossoming of love, are indeed as beautiful and romantic as a touch of blue in the sky, but they will eventually turn into regrets, big or small, and remain in the heart, and you will suddenly remember them on some night at an unknown time and place, and then you will toss and turn in bed again.

"Tzuyu, what about you? When was the first time you held hands with a girl?"

Gu Yiwu shook his head dejectedly, then turned to Zhao Rong and asked curiously.

"I?"

Zhao Rong rolled up his sleeves, kept walking, squinted his eyes and looked ahead, and suddenly sighed, "Ah."

Gu Yiwu's eyes became more and more curious. Could it be a regret that was even more regrettable than his own?

Zhao Rong shook his head with little interest, "Brother Yiwu, you know me."

He paused, shook his head and said, "Qingjun and I met in the cradle, and we even fought over her milk. Later, we started holding hands when we were wearing open-crotch pants, and then I met Qian'er... Hey, holding hands, don't you think it's difficult?"

Nothing.

The young scholar said this sincerely, with a hint of regret in his tone.

“…”

Burly scholar: Do you think you are humorous?

The atmosphere became awkward.

Gu Yiwu's face darkened and he didn't really want to talk to Zhao Rong.

Damn, is this childhood sweetheart? I was careless.

Zhao Rong held back his laughter and apologized.

At this moment, they heard footsteps behind them. They both fell silent, restrained their expressions, and looked back.

It was Li Mingyi in a dragon robe.